Defying the Winds of Change

Zimbabwe's 2008 Election

Synopsis

After years of economic and social crisis, Zimbabweans went to the polls in March 2008 to vote for members of parliament, local government councillors and a president. The ruling ZANU(PF) party's defeat in the 2000 constitutional referendum created shockwaves that echoed into the new millennium. The harmonized March 2008 elections saw the party lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since Independence, and left the hitherto impregnable Robert Mugabe trailing behind Morgan Tsvangirai in the presidential poll. Defying the Winds of Change reviews the social and economic context of the election, its coverage in the media, its legitimacy, and the consequences of the decision to hold a presidential run-off three months later.

Review

Defying the Winds of Change is a penetrating analysis of the political turmoil that spawned Zimbabwe's power-sharing government, and laid the foundations for a new political future.

Author

Eldred V. Masunungure teaches in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Zimbabwe. His current research interests include political transitions, elections, governance, and policy-making.